Vietnam: To Lam confirmed as country's top leader

Vietnamese President To Lam was named general secretary of the Communist Party on Saturday.

The position is the country's most powerful political role.

Communist Party delegates unanimously supported Lam's nomination, officials said.

Lam replaces Vietnam's longtime leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who died two weeks ago. It remained unclear whether Lam would also stay on as president.

Lam takes aim at corruption

Speaking to Communist Party delegates on Saturday, Lam vowed to continue Trong's legacy, including an anti-graft campaign that has swept up thousands of people including top officials and senior business leaders.

"[I will] continue to speed up anti-corruption... regardless of who the person is," he said. "Personally I feel fortunate that I have much experience in handling anti-graft campaign[s] during the time I worked at the police ministry."

"We have gained the trust of the people, and international friends, in our fight."

Lam also said he would make no changes to the Southeast Asian nation's foreign policy.

Lam spent more than four decades in the Ministry of Public Security — which is responsible for monitoring dissidents, among other things — before becoming president earlier this year. Analysts see the presidency as a stepping stone to the country's top job.

zc/rmt (Reuters, AFP, AP)